The pursuit of raising awareness for the plight of the Great Barrier Reef, cause by the mining industry in the region – environmental activism not profit driven capitalism.
Source: PhOtOnQuAnTiQuE CC
Please consider joining the movement for a New Shore for The Great Barrier Reef, because the outlook is not good. The plight of the reef is not a media beat-up or a bunch of greenies jumping up and down for attention. This call for a new shore for the reef is needed as this natural wonder of the world is dying before our eyes.
There’s a lot of buzz about seagrass, increased port activity, coral bleaching, pollution, global warming, mining in the region and the hot topic of dredging. These are all contributing factors culminating to the destruction of this:
Source: Richard Ling CC
Detailed information is available at Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Greenpeace Save the Reef and Getup.
For some reason, the importance of the reef has slipped from our consciousnesses, maybe because it’s cheaper to go on holiday to Bali than it is to Queensland, but maybe that’s part of the plan? Public support for the reef has slipped, and it’s needed now to help protect the fragile marine ecology and threat to sea-life.
The dredging at Abbott Point to expand the port has been a high profile issue in the media. This has a threefold effect of the health of the reef; mining, dredging and the dumping of seabed, which will have a dramatic effect of the seagrass that supports the marine ecosystem.
The impacts to the environment by the mining industry in Queensland are causing devastation to the reef that can never be reversed. Balanced logic, has been replaced an ideology of profit driven rationalism, placing greater priority for wealth before protecting one of the greatest marine parks in the world. Capitalism is shortsighted.
Australia is fortunate to be home of vast natural beauty. We as a country have also been very fortunate to be a mineral rich county – which in turn has created vast amounts of wealth. How do we now strike a balance between the economy and the needs of the environment? How can we as a country maintain wealth generation and employment, and also take in to account the environmental needs of the reef? The new shore for The Great Barrier Reef is about changing the mindset from mining and looking for other ways to support a balanced sustainable future. Building the social mindset, understanding there is an new economic model that can generate jobs and growth from clean, sustainable energies.
Source Lock the Gate Alliance CC
Curtis Island, off the east coast of Rockhampton in Queensland, is one of many communities affected by the mining industries impact to the environment. Watch this powerful story of Curtis Island, told by one of the traditional owners Mabel Quakawoot.
Source: Greenpeace Australia Pacific YouTube
High profile issues like dredging at Abbott point grab a lot of attention, but beyond the headlines, are many other towns and communities, like Curtis Island, who are affected by the mining industries impact on the immediate environment around them.
Activism
‘The real story’ is a collection of insightful stories produced by Greenpeace, from individual’s and communities perspective. Connect with GetUps’s ‘join the campaign’, by signing the petition to the Federal Environment Minister, throw your support behind this cause.
Source: FusionVision David Hass CC
The reef needs our help, help raise awareness of this cause and stand up for a New Shore for The Great Barrier Reef.
Mark J Wilson is an Communications graduate from Curtin University. I am a passionate advocate for environmental and social change. Attempting to raise awareness of the fossil fuel industries impact on society and environment.
Find Mark at aboutme & Linkedin
The narrative of this page has ‘spliced together’ a new shore for the Great Barrier Reef. The focus of the page draw’s on the mining industries environmental impacts onto the reef. The page explores how a mindset and decisions based on profit and revenue are impacting the health and longevity of the reef. There is an overreaching ideology based on a short-term gain opposed to the long-term vision into sustainability and management of the Reef, prioritising minerals before the reef as a long-term valuable asset.
A new shore for the Great Barrier Reef page curates images and develops an informative approach to support sustainability and protection of the reef. The curation presents images and footage that contrasts the beauty of the reef; with the devastation mining and dredging has caused. Specifically highlighting the issue to dredge Abbott Point, for the purpose of allowing freight ships greater accessibility to transport minerals from Queensland mines to overseas buyers. This issue impacts the reef twofold, where both mining and dredging impact the already fragile marine life and ecosystems of the Great Barrier Reef – social and economic impacts to the environment. This curation attempts to underpin the value of the reef as an asset worth protecting. The page has drawn on an arrangement of visual connections of the reef’s colours, coral and marine life. Engaging the audience with an informative visual dialogue centralised around mining and dredging that’s occurring in the region and its direct impacts on the immediate environment – supporting the need for a new shore for the Great Barrier Reef.
MJ Wilson 